I have a 3 yr old that has been potty trained for awhile (at least 6+ months). But...she only goes on the potty when she wants to! After countless changes...I am finally asking anyone out there if they have had a similar problem. My son was a breeze to potty train, maybe I am asking too much out of her? P.S. She is very strong-willed and independent. Anyone have suggestions?
Hi R.
Maybe making it not so comfortable for her when she does have an accident?? Letting her sit in her wet clothing for a while might do the trick.
Maybe she just likes to change her outfits and thinks that's the only way you'll let her??
Could also be a UTI. Have you ruled that out?
strong willed and independent - says it all! try a reward system.. stickers for a week and trip to McDonalds or something that she really wants.. then go 2 weeks, then 3... etc.. good luck..
I think you have just described my daughter!!!! I have been trying for a while now to potty train my daughter who is also 3 (turned in Jan). She had no interest in even sitting on the potty. I decided one day to try the reward system like one of the other suggestions. I made a bunch of squares and at the end of about 6 squares I wrote the word reward and explained to her that if she goes pee pee on the potty she will get 1 sticker, and two for poo poo. If she reaches the reward square we will go buy her a prize. For her it was a "journal" that she really wanted so that she could scribble in it. It worked to get her interested in it, but still she would decide when she wanted to go on it and it wasn't as frquent as I hoped. So after reading some posts on cafe mom, I decided that I would be brave and just slap underwear on her every morning and deal with whatever came my way. It has worked to a point. She does good most of the day, but still has at least one accident a day, and she's been in underwear for over 2 weeks. I know its very frustrating, but every child is different. There is no cookie cutter mold that fits every child. My daughter is incredibly bright, but has always been a step behind with some physical developments, like rolling over, sitting up, walking, ect. She was talking in full sentences, counting to 20 and singing the alphabet by her 2nd birthday. So hang in there and keep trying, but don't push her because she will just regress.
My oldest is also strong willed and independent. It took me FOREVER to get him fully potty trained. I felt like it was one huge power struggle. At one point I kind of stopped pushing it and eventually he stopped having accidents (he always peed on the potty...but mostly pooped in his pants.) My second son my sister potty trained (while I was in the hospital with our third son) at 2 1/2 in two weeks time...no problem...go figure. All kids will eventually be potty trained...some just want to do it on their own schedule.
Good luck!
H. (SAHM to Spencer 4 1/2, James 3 1/2, Wilco 11 Months)
My daughter turned 3 in January and had no interest in using the potty. She has been sitting on the potty for over a year and a half but only went two times. We tried rewards, but that only motivated her to sit, she still did not go. She recently asked to wear big girl underwear to pre-school. My husband let her wear them and we have not looked back. She had several accidents for the first 3 or 4 days, but none in the last two weeks. She was obviously ready. She even gets up at night and gets out of the pool when she needs to go. Everyone told me that a switch would be turned on when she was ready. I thought it would never happen.
